Situated in Fermanagh, Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

, Carrick Church (Teampall Carraig) is approximately one mile to the north-west of the village of Derrygonnelly

Derrygonnelly

Derrygonnelly is a small village and townland in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. Near Lower Lough Erne, the village was home to 594 people and dates to the Plantation era....

, on the shore of Carrick Lough. The Church is a late medieval structure built by the local chieftain

Chiefs of the Name

The Chief of the Name, or in older English usage Captain of his Nation, is the recognised head of a family or clan...

 of the time, Gilbert O'Flanagan II, and his wife Margaret in 1483 in 'Honour of God and Mary". The O'Flanagan sept, who supplied many of the clergy for both Devenish and Inishmacsaint, were the chieftains of Tuatha Ratha. The territory of Tuatha Ratha covered approximately the area which is known today as the Barony of Magheraboy

Barony of Magheraboy

Magheraboy is a barony in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. To its east lies Lower Lough Erne, and it is bordered by three other baronies in Northern Ireland: Lurg to the north; Tirkennedy to the east; and Clanawley to the south It also borders two baronies in the Republic of Ireland: Tirhugh to...

 and their stronghold was situated at Baile ui Fhlanagain in the townland of Aghamore

Aghamore

Aghamore is a village in County Leitrim, Ireland, located on the main N4 national primary road between Dublin and Sligo.-See also:*List of towns and villages in Ireland...

 on the shores of Carrick Lake.

Much trouble plagued the descendants of O'Flanagan and The Annals of Ulster

Annals of Ulster

The Annals of Ulster are annals of medieval Ireland. The entries span the years between AD 431 to AD 1540. The entries up to AD 1489 were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luinín, under his patron Cathal Óg Mac Maghnusa on the island of Belle Isle on Lough Erne in the...

 record that in 1528 Gilleece O'Flanagan and his son Turlough were murdered in the chapel. Gilbert II may have built a church at Aghamore (the Great Field) as a private chapel but it raises the question; did he have a difference with his kinsman who was Prior on Inishmacsaint or did he build it for prestige? Gilbert II died in 1496 and when his wife Margaret, who was a daughter of the ruling house of the Maguires of Fermanagh, died, she was buried at the Abbey in Donegal

Donegal

Donegal or Donegal Town is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. Its name, which was historically written in English as Dunnagall or Dunagall, translates from Irish as "stronghold of the foreigners" ....

.

Carrick Church may have existed as a place of worship for the local people until penal times as there is no record of any other Roman Catholic place of worship in the area. Inishmacsaint church was taken over by the planters as Hume, the local landlord, did not build a church until 1688 at Drumenag. Despite the condition of the dangerous ruins the graveyard was utilized by the locals until around 1930. Many gravestones litter the grounds and some late 18th century inscriptions are still visible on the markers.

Nearby to this ruin, there is a well by the name of Tobarnasuil, from the Irish 'Tobar na Súil' meaning "well of the eyes". Its water to said to have healing powers to cure ailments of the eye.